The Keys to the Kingdom Tour

[cabloom]

This sounds wonderful! What time was your tour?

We had the 9:00 tour. Park opened at 8:30 for EE, and we took the monorail over. We didn’t bother with trying to sneak in a ride first, just went straight over to Town Square Theater and checked in. They gave us our headsets, took our lunch orders, and we each got a bottle of water.

It was easy to hear everything, the pace was comfortable for everyone and bathroom breaks were well timed. It’s really hard to say what we liked best (we are 2 adults) - it was all interesting, even the utilidores -we spent probably about 45 minutes down there. The backstage area where they keep the parade floats was also interesting, although you just walk through- you can’t enter any buildings.

We had always been interested in this tour but didn‘t want to sacrifice 5+ hours of park time, but now we visit more often and have time to spare - it is well worth the time if you are interested in the history and background of Disney!

 

[Pills]

Honestly,

It was the CM, her dad was an imagineer and she interacted with Walt himself - so she had a lot of anecdotal stories to share - including her cat was cast and molded for one of those found at the Haunted Mansion.

Outside of that, there are a lot of lore/tidbits shared that while bloggers like to talk about - it may not be common knowledge for many. Also, depending on your tour time, we got to see the setup and preparation backstage for one of the parades and then watched it live - so we got to see the CMs and what they had to do to get ready (the actual people) which breaks the magic a bit and why they age restrict the tour participants.

The tour is well put together - but if you are a Disney know it all (as clearly some DISers are) it may not be for you or you might not find the value of it. There’s a lot of walking - so be prepared - and accommodation are made for those with mobility issues with frequent stops along the way.

We had her, too. She made it an amazing tour. Well worth it - waited to do it for years until my little one was 16 (she's just shy of 3 in the profile picture).

 

[john7994]

We had her, too. She made it an amazing tour. Well worth it - waited to do it for years until my little one was 16 (she's just shy of 3 in the profile picture).

She was very special and glad to see they are still working to make it more magical for people.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We had her, too. She made it an amazing tour. Well worth it - waited to do it for years until my little one was 16 (she's just shy of 3 in the profile picture).

So glad you enjoyed it! My DD will be 16 next year and we're planning on booking KTTK too!

 

[Tripscarcare]

Has anyone recently done the Keys to the Kingdom Tour, heading down in April 2024. Was thinking about taking the tour, thoughts on the tour?

 

[Marthasor]

If you are interested in behind-the-scenes access and anecdotes about WDW and MK, it's fantastic. If you want to go, I would book quickly as it is very popular.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Has anyone recently done the Keys to the Kingdom Tour, heading down in April 2024. Was thinking about taking the tour, thoughts on the tour?

There are many threads about this tour. Your question has been merged with a recent thread where a lot of helpful information has been shared.

 

[Tripscarcare]

There are many threads about this tour. Your question has been merged with a recent thread where a lot of helpful information has been shared.

Thank you

 

[sWDWcopeland]

My DH and I did the tour on February 16th. I am a big Disney nerd that knows a lot about Walt and Disney in general but I still learned several new things. My husband really wanted to take the tour. We both enjoyed it and would recommend it. It was a good mix of stories, facts, behind the scenes things, and rides. We got to ride Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion. They took our lunch order when we checked in and we ate around 11:30 at Columbia Harbor House in a special section upstairs. We were in the right place at the right time in the utilidors and got to see some fun things. When our guide was sharing stories about Walt, several in our group were crying. You could tell she really loved working for Disney and had a true love for Walt. If you're looking for something special, this is it.

 

[Topaz Scorpio]

So the lunch is at Columbia Harbour House now instead of Pecos Bill’s? Can you advise what the food choices were? Taking this tour in May.

 

[Sweettears]

Did the tour years ago and it was at Columbia. As I recall it was something like a chicken sandwich. Nothing to get excited about but lunch. The meal portion of the tour is immaterial to the event.

 

[gypsy_at_heart]

I did the tour in June of last year for the first time - I loved it. Lots of interesting information, lots of opportunity to ask questions. I did the 8:30am tour and was a couple minutes late but was all good! They had headsets, which was great so it was easy to hear everyone. You do get taken through backstage areas, we saw some of the Halloween parade floats being worked on when we were there and some other parade floats too which was neat, also they explained why pirates was different from DL and some other cool info about the general structure of the park. With the utilidoors, we spent a decent amount of time there. Not a ton, but we saw where costuming was and she explained how costumes are checked out, we talked about walt for a bit down there and we got to see some of the princesses going up the elevator to Cinderella's royal table. I saw Snow White hand off her Starbucks to someone before going up and that amused me lol

The lunch was at Pecos Bills, it was ok? I can't complain, it's no my favourite place personally but it was decent.

I personally enjoyed the tour a lot, I thought it was neat to see backstage things, and the guide was great and gave lots of opportunities to ask questions. It is 5 hours, so it's a long tour with a lot of walking, so I would just be comfortable with that. Also, as others have mentioned, they explain a lot of inner workings to you. For example, on my tour someone asked a lot about the tinkerbell flight during the fireworks and we learned a lot about the qualifications and how it's done and what happens if they get stuck lol I loved it, but just keep that in mind if you worry about ruining the magic for anyone going. Also, the pin is cool that you get! So, for me, I thought it was worth it.

 

[Topaz Scorpio]

Did the tour years ago and it was at Columbia. As I recall it was something like a chicken sandwich. Nothing to get excited about but lunch. The meal portion of the tour is immaterial to the event.

I wasn’t saying it was. I just wanted to know what the choices were. And I replied to that prior comment as I wanted to hear more from someone who took the tour last month as opposed to “years ago” since things change with these tours.

 

[Sweettears]

I wasn’t saying it was. I just wanted to know what the choices were. And I replied to that prior comment as I wanted to hear more from someone who took the tour last month as opposed to “years ago” since things change with these tours.

Easy chief. Just adding to the conversation.

 

[Tripscarcare]

Awesome thread, booked the tour for May 2024. Cheers.

 

[sWDWcopeland]

It wasn't the full menu, just certain things. I had the salad with chicken (it was good) and DH had the chicken sandwich. Sorry I can't remember all of the options. For dessert we each had a pretty cupcake with confetti sprinkles inside. You have 30 minutes to eat. It was all set out on tables with your name. Each party had their own table. It was good.

So the lunch is at Columbia Harbour House now instead of Pecos Bill’s? Can you advise what the food choices were? Taking this tour in May.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

We are going in Jan 2025 and considering this tour. My DD has several food allergies. Can they accommodate food allergies when preordering lunch? Is there somewhere to note food allergies when purchasing the tickets?

 

[Sweettears]

You need to check in at City Hall for the tour. You probably can let them know at check in

 

[jcolvin5]

This may be a dumb question, but both my wife and I have trouble hearing in crowds or groups. Do the tour guides use a microphone?

Thanks

There are no dumb questions!

 

[jcolvin5]

Interested in doing this tour. Anyone who’s done this…interesting for a 9 and 7 year old? Thinking probably not.